Ever Distant Hearts
by Vanishing Trooper
Summary: My third fic that started with Attraction and Repulsion and continues with My Red Rosebud. Happens in the same time and ties in to the other fics. YuukiXSachiko...yes, you read correctly!


**A/N:** Hi there! Surprise! This will be my third fic in my timeline that started with 'A&R' and continues with 'Rosebud'. This time, it's a SachikoXYuuki story that coincides with the other two fics. This is the prologue that shows Yuuki and Sachiko reminiscing about when they first met. I hope that you all enjoy it! I'll try to get some more chapters out for this and 'Rosebud' soon.

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything on this fic that can be used against me in a court of law.**

...

Fukuzawa Yuuki was walking alone in the streets of Tokyo in a December evening. He was wearing his school uniform and overcoat with a scarf covering most his face since they just finished the last day of school before the start of the Winter Break. Yuuki stopped and suddenly felt the full cold of winter, it was not snowing in any degree but that did not save anyone from the dropping temperature that comes with this season.

"A lot colder than last year…" Yuuki noted arbitrarily since he really wasn't sure but decided to declare it so since he was freezing. He looked beyond the horizon and saw his destination.

_Tokyo Tower…_He thought. He was invited there by an unexpected host…one of the last people he thought would ever invite him to talk, what about was still not clear. He thought about the absurdity of the whole thing and what led to it but shook his head, thinking that the cold was just getting to him.

"No use dwelling about it now…" Yuuki shook off his earlier doubts and walked on towards his destination because there was someone eagerly waiting for him…or so he hoped. The cold suddenly didn't seem as bad as he had thought before, all in his head maybe? Perhaps…or maybe he was just too preoccupied in thinking about his host for the evening: Ogasawara Sachiko.

Ogasawara Sachiko…that name didn't really mean anything to Yuuki back then, he didn't even know who that was until Yumi mentioned her at the breakfast table one morning in their freshman year.

...

"……Who?" Yuuki asked, doing a double take on his sister's blabbering. The whole Fukuzawa family was currently under the mercy of Yumi who was voicing her newfound adoration for one of her seniors.

"Sa-chi-ko! Ogasawara Sachiko-sama! She was wonderful during the welcoming ceremony yesterday you know! She played Ave Maria on the piano and everything!" Yumi exclaimed while holding up her index finger like she was giving her brother a lecture. The parents just chose to stay out of the way since the siblings do this kind of banter every now and then.

_Sama?_ Yuuki wondered at the strange honorific said by Yumi. Honestly, everyone who hears the honorifics system the school has for their seniors have had the same reaction (read: Ryou, Keiichi, etc.)

"I see…" Yuuki replied, indifferent of Yumi's newfound adoration.

"And what is that supposed to mean? You sound like you don't care at all." Yumi complained about Yuuki's lackluster reply, her pout was evident of this.

"What? I don't even know who that is! How am supposed to care?" Yuuki retorted, their argument becoming more heated. They stopped in their tracks however when they heard their father give out a very audible and very obvious cough. That was the way it has been. One of them starts an argument and the other continues and their dad ends it. The verbal skirmish ended with Yumi sticking her tongue out at her brother while Yuuki simply shrugged it off, just another morning in the Fukuzawa household.

...

Sachiko stepped out of one of the family Benzes and looked around; she was in front of Tokyo Tower. She was currently wearing her uniform and coat like Yuuki was. She headed straight here after the Yamayurikai meeting for the Christmas party but kept the reason why from everyone…even Yumi herself.

_Yumi…_Sachiko gave a deep sigh as she thought about her Petit Seour. She had blindsided Yumi back during the end of the School Festival when she told Yumi that she needed to get a Petit Soeur of her own. Sachiko never expected Yumi to do the same when the girl described the anxiety and sudden tightening of her chest whenever she was with one Miyamoto Ryou and the longing and the becoming more frequent sighs she had done whenever she wasn't. The two of them were not dating in any sense of the word and Yumi has yet to discuss to young man about her feelings but Sachiko knew very well what those feelings were.

"I had the very same symptoms back then as well…" Sachiko said to herself while walking into the tower to get out of the cold. She was of course talking about her past love for Kashiwagi Suguru, part of her still did…but that part was quickly silenced everytime she saw him and everytime she remembered when he crushed her heart. She purged her mind of such thoughts and knew that Yumi was different. Yumi didn't consider Ryou as a prince on a white horse who will whisk her away to a happy life. Sachiko was glad about that and as much as she disliked men, Ryou had slowly earned her trust. Not enough that she would allow him to possibly have Yumi's heart but…that may come in time. It made her think of the only other male that she can openly be friendly with without any masks or faking, the person she had invited to Tokyo Tower.

_Yuuki-san…_

...

"You have a younger brother?" Sachiko asked in a bit of surprise and a slight pang in her heart. They had just finished their after school meeting and the Yamayurikai were having tea while taking some time to relax and Yumi suddenly let slip a silly argument she and Yuuki had the night before.

"Yes, why? Haven't I told you?" Yumi asked, obviously oblivious.

"Well…no…" Sachiko replied, the silence was awkward and deafening. Youko decided that she had enough of it and intervened since she knew why Sachiko seemed a bit on edge in hearing that Yumi had a male sibling.

"I don't believe that you have told any of us about your younger brother Yumi-chan." Youko said. Yumi looked around and saw that looks that her friends were giving her that pretty much confirmed Youko's statement. Eriko took a sip of her tea then looked at Yumi with an inquiring smile.

"So you got into an argument with your brother who is probably still in Junior High…or maybe even in elementary?" Eriko said as a bit of a joke. Yoshino couldn't help but giggle at the thought of Yumi having a heated argument with a little kid, to which Rei just gave her cousin a bored look.

"Eh? No…my brother is in highschool and in the same year as I am." Yumi said to clarify. Everyone in the room looked at her with surprised looks that varied in impact from the obviously godsmacked (Sei and Yoshino) to the surprised but not to an extreme (Eriko and Rei) to the 'Oh? Really?' kind of surprise (Shimako and Youko) then…there was Sachiko…who looked like she had just been hit with a truck and not realized it yet. I would believe that anyone who would hear Yumi's words would have a similar reaction to a degree since Yumi supposedly has a YOUNGER brother who was apparently in the same year as her in school.

"Wait! Wait! Are the two of you twins?" Sei exclaimed, obviously trying to make sense of it all. Everyone listened intently to Yumi's reply except Sachiko who still seemed to be in shock.

"No…my brother is younger than me but it just so happened that he was not younger than me by a whole year, which was why he and I managed to go to school at the same time." Yumi threw out her somewhat absurd explanation since that only way that that would have been plausible was that her mother should have been pregnant with Yumi's brother within three months after Yumi's birth. Yumi saw the entire Yamayurikai were trying to think of their own idea in the matter, she then saw Sachiko looking at her tea and had a somewhat pale face. She tapped her Onee-sama on the shoulder and Sachiko looked up to see Yumi's smiling face.

"Try not to think about it to much, the two of us had stopped thinking about it entirely for years now." Yumi said sheepishly. Sachiko was indeed a bit distressed to find that Yumi would have a brother that was around their age, she feared that her innate hate for men may lead her to do something that might make Yumi hate her in turn. But…

_If he was like Yumi, then it may not be so bad…_

"Right…" Sachiko replied, calming down.

...

Sachiko smiled at the memory while she looked at the vastness of Tokyo from the observation deck of the Tokyo Tower. There was no one else around because Sachiko had her grandfather pull some strings and reserve the entire observation deck for her tonight. Kinda makes you wonder what else they are capable of doing huh? Sachiko then thought of the last part of her memory and indeed, Yuuki really wasn't as bad as she had thought. She actually felt rather comfortable when they first met. She then turned around at the sound of the elevator activating. She then surmised that it was Yuuki since she had left specific instructions not to let anyone use that elevator other than the younger Fukuzawa sibling. The Rosa Chinensis' mind then drifted off to the time when she and Yuuki first met.

...

The Fukuzawa in question was indeed in the elevator that Sachiko had heard activate and was leaning on the far side of the compartment. He was very glad to be out of the cold and had long since removed his gloves, scarf and coat which were now being carried in his left arm. He was nervous to say that least since he was about to be with Sachiko alone for an undetermined amount of time. He had indeed admired the Red Rose almost as much as his sister does because of her strength of character and her natural beauty that gave off the air of a princess.

"Then…what does that make me?" Yuuki wondered but sighed at the oddity of the question. Certainly he was no prince…no Kashiwagi Suguru to be sure. As much as he is creeped out with the former Hanadera Student Council President, he had to admire the way he handled things when it came to serious matters. He had no doubts that if Kashiwagi was not…swinging that way… then he and Sachiko would have made a great couple.

Yuuki grimaced at the thought. He had heard about what his senior did to Sachiko back when she was actually happy about the arranged marriage between them. Yuuki couldn't help but feel sad about it and feel angry at his predecessor at what he had done. The young man clenched his fist at his sudden emotion because he knew that he had no right to butt in the matter between those two families and certainly had no means to even do so.

"I just…" Yuuki started to say before the doors of the elevator opened up to reveal Sachiko standing in front of him, behind her was the night sky. It would have been a magnificent painting to be sure. Yuuki thought back to when they had first met…

_Maybe…that was when it started for me…_

...

Sachiko was wearing a traditional kimono that her mother had picked out for her. It was time for the annual Yamayurikai New Year celebration and Sachiko had volunteered her house to be the venue. Most of the other members were already waiting in one of the rooms in the mansion, only Sei and Yumi weren't there yet. The White Rose had offered to pick up Yumi on her way to the mansion much to the gratitude of Sachiko and the rest though when Sei mentioned the word 'car' the Future Rosa Chinensis could not help but feel a bit nervous.

There was indeed a car making a beeline towards the Ogasawara Mansion but, instead of Sei's yellow Beetle, it was the red Mazerati of Kashiwagi Suguru. The strange thing about it was that in the front passenger seat was none other than Yumi's brother.

_I can't believe that I lost so easily…_Yuuki was currently lamenting his earlier crushing loss at the arcade in the hands of Suguru. He was challenged by Suguru to a round of Tekken and Yuuki was a bit apprehensive about it but thought that his skills were enough to defeat his senior, he was mistaken which brings us to this current situation.

"Hey…Kashiwagi-sempai…" Yuuki called out while glancing at Suguru who was wearing his trademark racing gloves and sunglasses before bracing himself for another suicide turn at a corner. He had quickly learned that driving with Suguru will shorten one's lifespan if you are not used to it.

"Be careful Yukichi…you might bite your tongue." Suguru said in a sickeningly sweet voice. Yuuki did just that and shut up for the meantime until they got to a traffic light that was red, forcing Suguru to stop.

"Where are we even going?" Yuuki asked, using the momentary peace to probe for Suguru's intentions. The older man looked at him with a gentle smile then looked back towards the road waiting for the light to go green.

"A relative's house…" Was all he said before he slammed on the gas and continued his rampage towards the Ogasawara Mansion. Oddly enough, a similar situation was happening further away between Sei and Yumi though neither Fukuzawa realized it.

Suguru's car finally stopped in front of the huge gates on the mansion and Yuuki took this time to look around and saw the nameplate of the owners.

_Ogasawara…Wait what?!_ Yuuki exclaimed in his mind.

"Sempai…the relative you were talking about…could it be, Ogasawara Sachiko?" Yuuki asked with a strange sense of dread.

"Yes…this is Sa-chan's home." Suguru replied. Yuuki stopped his protest for a moment at the way Suguru mentioned Sachiko's name.

_I guess they must be close…_He thought.

Sachiko was currently serving tea to the Yamayurikai (yes…surreal, isn't it?) when she heard the doorbell ring. Sachiko immediately excused herself and quickly made her way to the front door where she had expected to see Sei and Yumi but when she opened it…

"Happy New Year Sa-chan…" Said Suguru in the same sickeningly sweet voice. Sachiko immediately paled since he was really the last person she wanted to see right now. She then noticed that he wasn't alone and looked at who his companion was and let out a slight gasp. If Yumi was a guy, you'd expect that she'd look like Yuuki. Which was why Sachiko was surprised to see a male version of Yumi standing with Suguru in her doorstep, it was like she was in some strange twilight zone.

Yuuki on his part was mesmerized at what he saw. The woman in front of him was Ogasawara Sachiko, Yumi's 'Onee-sama' and Rosa Chinensis En Bouton and she was beautiful. He would have stared at her forever if not for Sachiko's mother walking into view to see who the new arrivals were.

"Happy New Year Auntie." Suguru bowed to Sachiko's mom.

"Ahh…Suguru. Welcome and Happy New Year." She then saw Yuuki who was now out of his daze thankfully. Yuuki suddenly realized that all eyes were on him and suddenly bowed in embarrassment.

"Ha-Happy New Year! I'm Fukuzawa Yuuki! Nice to meet you!" He said in a manner befitting a Fukuzawa. Sachiko was completely stunned at the similarity between the two siblings while her mother was happy that he had such good manners.

"C'mon Yukichi…I think Sa-chan is expecting someone." Suguru said before starting to walk away towards the stairs. Yuuki followed only because he had no idea what to do or say in front of Sachiko and her mother. When he caught up to Suguru, who was at the top of the stairs, the older man suddenly leaned in close and whispered…

"If I'd let you stare at her any longer she may have started to melt." Suguru joked. Yuuki suddenly blushed furiously at the comment.

"What? No! I didn't…" Yuuki started until he thought back on what Suguru said about Sachiko waiting for someone. If he had remembered correctly, Yumi should be out as well to meet a friend from school.

_Then…does that mean that…_Yuuki never managed to finish his thought when the doorbell rang again and Sachiko opened the door to reveal Sei and Yumi. He was currently trying to digest the whole situation when Yumi suddenly yelled out his name in surprise.

"Hey…Yumi…" was all he could say.

...

Yuuki and Sachiko's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of the elevator door closing, Yuuki had not exited yet and suddenly burst forth to stop the doors from closing on him. He managed to safely get off the elevator and breathed out in relief and noticed Sachiko walking towards him.

"Are you alright Yuuki-san?" She asked.

"Yeah…I'm fine Sachiko-san." He replied.

Strange that they would call each other by their first names so casually these days. When did it all start? It wasn't when they had first heard about each other and it wasn't when they had first met. So, when?

"You wanted to talk to me?" Yuuki asked, getting to the root of the matter at hand.

"Yes…I need to talk about this with someone…someone I trust." Sachiko replied.

When did she start to trust him so?

"Then why not Yumi?" Yuuki asked the obvious, Sachiko shook her head at his query.

"No…Not with Yumi, not now. You are the only one I can confide this with right now Yuuki-san so…" She looked at him with pleading eyes that he never thought he would ever see.

"…will you listen?"

When did he start to be so willing to help her?

"Alright…" He replied with a smile.

When did their ever distant hearts come closer?

...

And that takes care of the prologue! Please R&R!


End file.
